Amina Mohamed Calls On Filmmakers “To Produce For Kenyans”

Kenya‘s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has called on Kenyan film-makers to showcase Kenyan culture in the stories they tell.

Amina says Kenya’s diverse cultures risk being eroded in favour of Western culture which is promoted by the permeation of foreign films and programming.

“The continuous overflow of films from other parts of the world has resulted in what we may call cultural alienation. It is therefore an urgent necessity, even an imperative, that we promote Africa’s own capacity in film and television productions, in order to eliminate the growing cultural estrangement and social disorientation,” she said at the conclusion of a film-makers workshop at the African Union offices in Nairobi.

Jane Munene, a Kenyan film-maker and Executive Director of the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPASI) echoed her sentiments arguing that the reason Nigeria’s movie industry is so vibrant is because they make their movies for themselves.

TNS Quote

As a director, I am a disciplinarian. I have no room for posers. If you want to pose, you go somewhere else. I am not interested in the star, I am interested in the artist. I am interested in the person who will do the job.